Community Corner
LGBTQIA+ OutFest Event In West Chester Canceled
The cancelation was triggered by hate messages and concerns about adequate numbers of volunteers and police.
WEST CHESTER, PA – An LGBTQ+ Community OutFest event planned for this Saturday in downtown West Chester was canceled following hate messages sent to planners and borough officials about the event, officials said.
John O’Brien, executive director of the West Chester Business Improvement District, informed borough council Tuesday night he is withdrawing an application for OutFest, which had been scheduled on Saturday, Oct. 1 from noon to 4 p.m.
O’Brien, event organizer, said there were not enough volunteers participating and additional police would have been necessary following the hate messages.
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O’Brien said the event was planned to bring joy to the community, but it ended up being a heartbreaker.
O’Brien said that he hopes to schedule the event next summer.
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“We hope to regroup and this will be bigger and better,” O’Brien said. “We want people to realize that we need this to happen.
“Things that were said were disheartening and disgusting. I did not see this coming from the West Chester community. I believe that the overwhelming majority of this town is supportive of this type of event.”
O’Brien said the event was going to be similar to the festival in Phoenixville in June that featured entertainment including music and drag queen performances.
However, in the last week, O’Brien and borough officials received emails from residents that were filled with hate messages.
Council President Michael Stefano said he received hate-filled messages, noting that Council fully supports the event.
“I am disheartened that we are withdrawing this,” he said. “I was looking forward to the event. It’s really sad. I am 100 percent for moving forward.”
O’Brien said the primary issue was about drag queens at the event.
“There is a huge misunderstanding out there comparing this to some kind of burlesque show,” O’Brien said. “This is one of the reasons we need to have this take place. There is ignorance as to what would actually occur.”
He said that drag queens go back to the 1969 Stonewall riots in which the LGBTQ community fought back against police raids in Greenwich Village.
“This was the birth or pride,” he said.
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